Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is reported to have signed on to the Schumer-Manchin energy bill, accurately termed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), on Thursday, after tinkering with a few of its revenue-raising features, writes Tony Romm at WaPo. A key piece of information in Romm’s report is that Sinema wants […]
Taken for a Ride: Saudi-led OPEC+ snubs Biden with tiny Oil Increase, Despite Arms Sales, Fist Bump
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – At its meeting in Vienna yesterday, the enlarged “+” version of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting States (OPEC+) decided to increase output by only 100,000 barrels per day, a vanishingly small amount that will have no impact on lowering gasoline prices and which does US President Joe Biden virtually no […]
A ’22 Pink Wave for the Dems? What does Surprise Kansas Rejection of anti-Abortion Amendment Mean for the Country?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a startling development, Kansas voters rejected a ballot initiative on August 2 that would have specified in the state constitution that it does not protect the right to abortion. That would have allowed the heavily Republican-dominated state legislature to pass an abortion ban. It can’t do that now because […]
The End of the “Global War on Terror”: Biden takes out Ayman al-Zawahiri (1951-2022)
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – President Joe Biden announced on Monday evening that a CIA-operated drone had killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second leader of al-Qaeda after Usama Bin Laden, on Saturday while he stood on the balcony of a Taliban safe house in Kabul. He was allegedly hosted by the Haqqani clan, one of whose […]
How Samuel Alito’s Attack on Privacy Rights could Make that famous Star Trek Kiss between Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner Illegal Again
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Steve Chawkins writes in the LA Times that actress Nichelle Nichols died of a heart attack on Saturday at 89 in Silver City, New Mexico. Nichols was cast by Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry as Lt. Nyota Uhura, chief communications officer of the Federation star ship Enterprise and the fourth […]
Despite Biden’s Rejection of Israeli ‘Apartheid’ Characterization, 60% of Israeli Jews support Segregation of Palestinian-Israelis
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – When President Biden met with caretaker Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid, the two issued a joint statement that rejected ‘Apartheid’ as a descriptor for Israel. In contrast, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, and the UN Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories, Michael […]
Red States Turning Green: Louisiana Republicans Plan 5 Gigs of Offshore wind in Gulf of Mexico, with Interior Dept. Blessing
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Biden administration’s attempt to get 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030 initially focused on the Atlantic coast, where New York has jumped in with both feet to plan ambitious such wind farms. One of them will come online in as early as two years from now, in […]
Justice Alito Laments Disrespect for Religion as Americans Abandon Faith – Will his Dobbs Push them Further Away?
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – CNN’s Ariane de Vogue, reports that Justice Samuel Alito, a right wing Catholic, gave a speech in Rome for Notre Dame last week, which has finally become public. Alito posed as a defender of religious freedom, but what he seemed to mean by that was the religious people who are […]
Surprise Dem Senate Bill makes US Global Climate Leader, Sees 40% Carbon Reduction by 2030
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – In a huge surprise on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Joe Manchin, announced an agreement on a package of legislation that includes an unprecedented $369 billion to encourage green energy and cut carbon dioxide emissions, on a […]